Friday, March 28, 2014

How to Sort and Clean Dry Beans - Pictorial

For some, making beans from scratch seems a daunting and complicated task. Over the next few days, I'll show you how to make delicious, healthy beans from scratch! Say goodbye to canned beans forever. Today, I will start by showing how to sort and clean beans.

Here, I am using Pinto beans--common in Mexican dishes--however the sorting and cleaning process is the same for any type of bean or legume.

The first thing you will do is measure out some dry beans. I make beans in bulk as they are not only a staple food in our home, but they also freeze well. If you are unsure as to how much you need, keep in mind that once cooked, the amount will close to double.

I buy my beans from Sprouts, from the bulk bin, but you can also get them at any local grocery store in a bag (often 1lb, or 5lb).

Once you measure out your desired amount, you will sort through them. To do this, pour them out onto your counter or table top (careful, they can scratch your table surface).

Next, sort through them pushing a few beans at a time aside and ensuring that you pull out any rocks or rotten looking beans from the batch.

This is what I pulled out of my batch of about 2 lbs. A few small rocks, and a few old looking beans that I would not want mixed into my cooked batch. Just toss all of this in the trash.

After, place all of the sorted beans into a large bowl or pot and then fill with *cold* water (warm/hot water will ruin the beans). Run your hands through the beans, mixing them around to ensure you loosen any dirt and debris stuck to any beans.

Pour the beans into a colander and run with fresh *cold* water. Repeat the washing and rinsing until the water is clean.